21 August 2009

Reading on Bicycles

I found this brilliant sign over at Will o' the Wisp, a website featuring four Dutch mothers who blog about life in the Netherlands with sharp, entertaining wit. (now defunct, it seems.)

They didn't cut any corners when writing about Dutch bicycle culture.

Like the sign above says, "Please refrain from reading newspapers while cycling". I often see people riding with books here in Copenhagen and lament daily the fact that I have, as yet, been unable to catch a photo of one. [I'm still waiting for the shot of a cat in a basket, too]

I do have a photo of Felix reading a book on our Long John - back when we had the Long John - on our way to football training:
This is a common sight. Kids in cargo bikes reading books on their way home from school.
The archive photo I use for the Slow Bicycle Movement is from the heyday of the legendary Six Day Races. Back in the day the riders cycled literally for six days straight around the velodrome. At night, when your partner was catching some shuteye, cyclists would casually pedal in circles reading, like in the photo, with one leg up on the handlebars and the other pedalling. I've seen a photo of a cyclist shaving on his bike, as well, but can't bloody well find it.

In the morning when the crowds started filing back into the velodrome, the race was on again.

6 comments:

Will O' the Wisp is a lovely site - and a great reminder of the true foundations of cycling safety!

Glad they link to your (other) site. Odd that they don't link to Amsterdamize.com as well - Marc has done features on other Dutch cities, though alas I don't believe he has covered the very pleasant small city of Maastricht.

The problem in seville with the most of 50.000 new ciclist every day, is the mobile phone and "stress", that every people think that are in a competition.

here the "vuelta ciclista" in Spain Spot, recorded in a small town of Andalucia (South Spain). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHBeV2DtttM&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ciclofilia.org%2F&feature=player_embedded#t=45

and here, a notice in my blog about the Boom bike we have in the city and problems with the people to make road lanes in the street, spanding zones for pedestrians and quitting cars parkings, Seville has the biggest city centre of Europe with praha and Wien (2kmx3km) and the biggest gothic cathedral of the world, and the third biggest cathedral of wrld(fist Vaticano and st peter in London). now is for pedestrians.

The problem in seville with the most of 50.000 new ciclist every day, is the mobile phone and "stress", that every people think that are in a competition.

here the "vuelta ciclista" in Spain Spot, recorded in a small town of Andalucia (South Spain). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHBeV2DtttM&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ciclofilia.org%2F&feature=player_embedded#t=45

and here, a notice in my blog about the Boom bike we have in the city and problems with the people to make road lanes in the street, spanding zones for pedestrians and quitting cars parkings, Seville has the biggest city centre of Europe with praha and Wien (2kmx3km) and the biggest gothic cathedral of the world, and the third biggest cathedral of wrld(fist Vaticano and st peter in London). now is for pedestrians.

Kilometres cycled by Copenhageners so far today

Copenhagenize.com is the blog of Copenhagenize Design Company. Online since 2007 and highlighting the cycling life in Copenhagen and around the world.

40 years ago Copenhagen was just as car-clogged as anywhere else but now 41% of the population arriving at work or education do so on bicycles, from all over the Metro area. 55% of Copenhageners themselves use bicycles each day. They all use over 1000 km of bicycle lanes in Greater Copenhagen for their journeys. Copenhagenizing is possible anywhere.